Inside The Penalty Box 09.15.08: Montreal Moves On To Plan B With Lang
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 09.15.2008
The Montreal Canadiens weren’t willing to wait any longer for the Mats Sundin saga to reach its conclusion. So, general manager Bob Gainey went with a backup plan to add some offense and acquired Robert Lang from the Chicago Blackhawks. Neil Borenstein discusses this deal, in addition to Eric Staal’s seven-year contract extension with the Hurricanes, in the latest edition of Inside The Penalty Box!
Montreal Moves On To Plan B
Habs Forget Sundin, Acquire Lang From Blackhawks
Photo Credit: www.daylife.com/AP Photo
The Montreal Canadiens dealt their second round draft selection in 2010 in exchange for Robert Lang.
The Montreal Canadiens aren't fooling around with their preparation for the 2008-09 season. After making several roster-strengthening moves already this offseason, the Habs made a deal Friday that proved they weren't hanging around for Mats Sundin to make a decision about his playing future. In dealing over a second round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Montreal acquired veteran center Robert Lang from the Chicago Blackhawks to add some scoring power to an already well-rounded set of players.
This trade is yet another indication that the Canadiens are determined to feed off their first overall finish in the Eastern Conference last year and make a legitimate push toward Stanley Cup contention in their centennial campaign. Lang became one of Montreal's backup plans when general manager Bob Gainey received no indication after meeting with Sundin that he intended on signing with Montreal for the upcoming season. The organization simply couldn't wait any longer for the 37-year old to make up his mind.
So they turned to another 37-year old, who, unlike Sundin, is not unfamiliar with switching teams. In his 14 NHL seasons, Lang has played for six different teams (Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.) In 875 total games played, Lang has racked up 635 points between 234 goals and 401 assists. Though likely no longer a 30-goal, 70-plus-point threat, Lang is still a reliable source of secondary scoring with 20- to 25-goal and 30- to 40-assist capability. He is entering the final season of his current deal, worth $4 million.
He joins left wing Alex Tanguay, enforcer George Laraques, potential Mark Streit replacement Yannick Weber and backup netminder Marc Denis as the Habs' newest additions in their drive for Lord Stanley. These new faces will aid a team led by the likes of Saku Koivu and Alexei Kovalev on offense, Andrei Markov and Roman Hamrlik on defense and the second-year prodigy, Carey Price, in between the pipes.
Without suffering any significant losses to detract from Montreal's collection of new players, they should be prime candidates for continued success based on their showing last year. The Canadiens took first place in the Eastern Conference with 104 points and 47 wins. In the playoffs, however, the Canadiens couldn't find the needed consistency in net between Price and backup Jaroslav Halak nor the offensive prowess that ranked as one of the best during the regular season. After squeaking past the Boston Bruins in a seven-game Conference Quarterfinals showdown, Montreal's Cup aspirations were stalled by a surprising Philadelphia Flyers squad in five games.
With a season under Price's belt and a bolstered roster, the Canadiens are primed for improvement. Added with the pressure of being in their hundredth season, hosting the NHL Entry Draft at the conclusion of it and retiring Patrick Roy's No. 33 at the Bell Centre in November, Montreal has all the tools and motivation necessary to be one of the favorites in the East.
Eric Staal Signed a seven-year, $57.75 million contract extension with the Hurricanes.
Hurricanes Extend Staal Until 2015-16: Organizations serve themselves best by not allowing franchise players to even sniff free agency, let alone reach it. A simple concept, this has been most prevalent since the NHL returned from the lockout and has been a mantra of many clubs with their most prized on-ice assets. The best way of avoiding free agency of any kind has been for teams to sign their stars to contract extensions one year prior (or at least half a year) to their restricted or unrestricted eligibility. That has most recently been the case for Washington's Alexander Ovechkin, Philadelphia's Mike Richards, Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier and Pittsburgh's duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Now, the Carolina Hurricanes have taken the safe route with the face of their franchise and former second overall selection from the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Eric Staal.
On Thursday, the Hurricanes agreed to a seven-year contract extension with Staal that will begin in 2009-10 and run through the 2015-16 campaign. At an overall price tag of $57.75 million, Staal will earn an average of $8.25 million for the duration of the extension. The 23-year old, two-time All Star will enter the final season of his current three-year contract this upcoming season that will pay him $5 million.
Ever since entering the NHL in 2003-04, Staal has become the preeminent face of the Hurricanes organization. After tallying just 31 points during his rookie campaign and playing the locked out season in the AHL with Lowell, he has spent the past three seasons as the predominant offense threat on Carolina's roster.
In the return campaign from the lockout, Staal not only led the Hurricanes in scoring with still-career marks of 45 goals, 55 assists and 100 points, but he also posted a league-leading 28 points in the postseason en route to a Stanley Cup Championship. He followed that with a 30-goal, 70-point campaign in 2006-07 and once again led the Hurricanes in points (82), goals (38) and assists (44) last season.
Though a 100-point campaign like he had just three seasons ago is not necessarily in the cards on a consistent basis, Staal should always be considered a threat for over 30 goals and 40 assists for at least 70 to 80 points a season. In that vein, Staal might be a bit overpriced at $8.25 million, especially after the Lightning's franchise player – Lecavalier – just signed a long-term extension at an average $7.727 per year and is a legitimate 50-goal threat. But a $500,000 difference is not worth nitpicking over and Staal provides a little bit of consistency in offense and leadership on a team that could very well lose some valuable veterans over the next few years to retirement (Rod Brind'Amour and Ray Whitney come to mind.)
Plus, Staal's contract doesn't serve the same career-long purpose of Lecavalier's – and even Ovechkin's and Richards', for that matter. Staal's contract will take him to 31 years of age, which sets him up nicely for another big-money, long-term deal when he'll still have another few prime years left in his career. That can be viewed as an unfortunate scenario for Carolina. But as someone opposed to contracts that run beyond five years, I believe the Hurricanes can afford to wait in their worry about Staal's next contract.
For now, the team can take comfort in knowing that he is off the market for a very long time and they need not worry about general managers tendering offer sheets to their most important player. That is territory no team wants to enter, regardless of how willing they are to match or accept the return compensation of draft picks. Avoiding those messy situations with contract extensions are more comfortable ventures for teams when it comes to their franchise players. Carolina is the latest team to achieve that peace of mind.
Photo Credit: Eric Staal – www.daylife.com/AP Photo
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